Day to Day Adventures… {In Homeschooling and Life}

Archive for September, 2011

I read this post about prayer, about how we get so busy with everything that seems so important right at this moment, so busy we don’t make time to pray, and I thought “this is me”. And maybe it’s all of us, in our own busy ways, too busy to pray. Years ago, we did a Bible study called “Too Busy Not to Pray”, and it was good, and I learned a lot.

Sometimes I wonder why I so quickly forget what I’ve learned? Why I revert back to old habits? Why isn’t prayer my first priority? Lately I’ve been waking up early, and I check the clock, roll over… and fall back asleep. Maybe… God’s telling me “Wake up. Spend the first moments of your day with me.”

Anyway, this post by Ann Voskamp from aholyexperience was a good reminder to me… to make time to pray. And really, of all the things I want to teach and model for my kids, isn’t this the most important?

I get butterflies in my stomach each first day of school. Each one. Did when I was a kid. Did when I was a teacher in a real classroom. Do now in my own small dining room table classroom.

When I was a kid, it was the butterflies of wondering who would be in my class. Who would be my teacher. Would I like him or her? (Would that teacher like me?)

When I taught in a classroom, it was meeting a whole new crop of kids. Wondering what this year would hold. Did I prepare enough for the first day? What kind of kids would they be? What kind of class?

Now, I’m not meeting anyone new. It’s my kids, and we’ve done this routine, four times already. But the butterflies still come. I think because I know I’m jumping into the deep end again. And the shore, it’s still distant. And I know that in the middle of it lies February. The dark days when the sun doesn’t shine enough and we’re all a bit tired and the ending is still hard to see.

So, I get butterflies. Will I really be able to teach my kids all they need to know, each and every day? Will I be enough? And will I be content knowing that I won’t? That there will be gaps (there always is)?

It’s a nervous feeling. It’s also an excited feeling. I’ve got books, great ones, that I can’t wait to dive into with my kids. I’m looking forward to those curled up on the couch reading together days.

And some of those February days? We’ll ditch the books and curriculum and bake a batch of cookies. Make some hot chocolate. Do something different, just for a day. And February will pass, and before I know it, I’ll be shaking my head and wondering how June got here so soon.

So, I’m looking forward to the year. I’m looking forward to brand new notebooks, clean, with endless possibilities, sharpened pencils, and new books and curriculum. This year…. it will be a good year.

Summer’s almost over – how did that happen so soon?! It’s been a good summer – we did nothing too exotic, besides our usual camping and day trips, but it’s been fun. I started the summer feeling really ready for a break, and that’s what I got. How awesome is it to have a job where you get the summer off with your kids? Okay maybe not the whole summer, this past week has been a pretty busy work week already! But that’s okay, because I’ve had the time off to relax, unwind … and get a renewed appreciation for the things I love about being home with my kids.

Summer fun:

Blackberry picking with the kids. Despite the thorns and scratches we spent a couple of fun mornings picking blackberries together. We made blackberry pie, put lots and lots in the freezer, and the kids even got entrepreneurial and sold some that they picked to the neighbours. $30.00 profit – not bad when you’re a kid and your only other source of money is a paper route!

Evan loves to pick blackberries

Spontaneous hugs, as I walk in the door back from my morning walk at 7:30 in the morning (or any time of day, really).

Rebecca likes hugs too....

Lots of time for games. This morning, we had breakfast and the kids raced through their morning chores of cleaning the table and loading the dishwasher. It turns out that they had already started a game of monopoly this morning before breakfast, and couldn’t wait to get back to it. They really can spend hours on that game! Now me? I like playing games with my kids, but monopoly isn’t my favourite – maybe because I’m not so good at it? The last time I played with them, they kept trying to slip me money without me seeing… and when I landed on their properties, they would say, “That’s okay, Mom, you don’t have to pay!”

Monopoly - definitely more important than making beds!

The smell of fresh baked cookies, when I’m not the one who has made them. Rebecca is our family baker, and is getting so good at it. Yesterday she made a batch of cookies, and when I wandered into the kitchen a while later, the counters were wiped, cookies were cooling, and the dishwasher was running. I love those summer days, when nothing to do leads to something so delicious. (Unfortunately, they’re gone too quick for pictures!)

Bracelets. Yes, that kept my kids busy for a few days this past week. I was the proud recipient of two of them. I think they stopped weaving them when they ran out of room on their arms. :)

Part of the bracelet collection

These days at home with kids, they’re going fast. But I hope when they look back, they’ll have good memories of the ordinary, everyday days, like I do.